Minnesotta mud.

[JBMetzEA@aol.com]

ON BASKETBALL
More to come for Minnesota 
By Peter May, Globe Staff, 10/27/2000  
 A day after effectively handing the Minnesota Timberwolves the NBA 
equivalent of the death penalty, the league's commissioner, David Stern, 
called the club's salary cap transgressions ''a fraud of major proportions.''
And, Stern suggested, more is still to come. Although the team was whacked 
with the likely loss of Joe Smith as well as an astonishing five first-round 
picks, team executives, including Kevin McHale, could face suspensions. The 
disciplinary action against Minnesota's management won't happen until a 
yet-to-be-scheduled session before an NBA arbitrator.
The Timberwolves were found in a recent arbitration hearing to have violated 
the Collective Bargaining Agreement by secretly agreeing to a down-the-road 
deal for Smith. Stern and his deputy, Russ Granik, said yesterday in a 
conference call that the secret deal - which was stupidly put into writing - 
contained five arrangements to pay Smith a huge salary once he had played for 
Minnesota for three years under three one-year, below-market deals.
''The magnitude of this offense was shocking,'' Stern said.
Stern voided all three of Smith's Minnesota deals, making the power forward a 
free agent. While Minnesota technically is eligible to re-sign him, Stern 
sounded as if that was unlikely. The Timberwolves thus will almost certainly 
lose Smith, as well as the five first-rounders for their complicity.
''I apologize for the actions I had to take,'' said Stern, sending a message 
to Minnesota's fans. ''I didn't think I had any choice.'' He suggested the 
Timberwolves do the same, but added the team has not been contrite in its 
dealings with the league.
''The actions here and the activities indicate their sense of remorse is 
nonexistent,'' Stern said.
A second hearing to determine culpability among Timberwolves executives was 
being arranged yesterday. If the arbitrator determines that individuals knew 
of the deal - owner Glen Taylor already has come clean - then Stern has the 
power to suspend anyone for a year.
While McHale has said he was unaware of the deal, it sounded yesterday as if 
the league didn't buy it. Asked about Taylor, Stern said, ''He has been a 
model owner in all respects except this one.''
Granik quickly added that the same applied to McHale.
Said Stern, ''This is not a particularly happy time for us.''
Even though several teams have had ''wink, wink'' deals with players to take 
care of them down the road, the league, until now, was powerless to stop them 
because it had no evidence. Portland re-signed Chris Dudley to a huge deal 
after Dudley played only six games for them under a one-year deal. The Suns 
did the same for Danny Manning. Orlando has a history of ''taking care'' of 
its players, from Horace Grant to Bo Outlaw to Derek Strong.
But in all those cases, and in others, there was, as best as can be 
determined, nothing defined in writing. This time, there was and it may cost 
Smith's former agent, Eric Fleisher, his job, although he has no name clients 
anymore. He once represented not only Smith, but Kevin Garnett and Chauncey 
Billups, among others.
It is thought that the agreement was discovered during depositions for a 
lawsuit involving Fleisher and one of his former assistants. Taylor has 
admitted doing the deal with Fleisher and said he acted alone. Granik made it 
clear yesterday that any Minnesota employee who knew of the arrangement was 
liable to be suspended.
As for Smith, he apparently has lost the ability to re-sign with Minnesota 
for big money next season. Under NBA rules, a team over the cap, such as 
Minnesota, can re-sign its own players to large contracts once that player 
has spent three seasons with them. Hence, the three one-year deals that Smith 
signed in January 1999, just after the lockout. That put him in line for a 
huge payday next summer, all of which was spelled out in the secret deal.
While the majority of the 50-minute teleconference concerned the Smith matter 
- it is a precedent setter - Stern and Granik did touch on other matters 
ranging from the 2004 Olympics to the ongoing arena crisis in Charlotte.
Regarding the Olympics, Stern and Granik suggested the 2004 team might have 
more ''role players'' on its roster instead of the ''Dream Team'' selection 
process. Granik, who heads USA Basketball, stopped short of saying NBA 
players would not be used.
''Our team didn't play as well as we hoped,'' Granik said of the gold 
medal-winning team. ''Maybe you need players on the end of the bench. It's 
something we'll explore in picking the next team.''
The Charlotte arena situation, meanwhile, is critical to the team staying in 
North Carolina. The club and the city are trying to find common ground to pay 
for an arena that most feel is necessary, even as attendance and interest 
appear to be dwindling.
''The arena issue is a real concern for us,'' Stern said. ''If there's no 
real prospect of the Hornets playing in a new arena, that could be a real 
problem.''
This story ran on page C3 of the Boston Globe on 10/27/2000. 
© Copyright 2000 Globe Newspaper Company.